Two days before kickoff, the 2026 World Cup is set to break all records: 48 teams, three host countries, 104 matches and more than five million tickets already sold. Yet behind this commercial success, a paradox emerges: some fixtures could be played in visibly sparse stands.
The problem is not a general disinterest in football. The great nations, the host countries, and decisive matches continue to generate substantial demand. The risk concerns especially some group-stage matches, scheduled in enormous North American stadiums, while high prices and travel difficulties discourage part of the fans.
Nearly 180,000 tickets still offered on resale
A few days before the tournament opens, about 180,000 tickets were still listed on FIFA’s official resale platform. About 176,000 concerned group-stage matches.
This figure does not necessarily mean that all these seats will remain empty. Some may still find buyers, while some tickets have already been counted in initial sales before being released back on the market by their owners.
Nevertheless, it reveals a highly uneven demand depending on teams and fixtures.
For the United States’ opening match against Paraguay, around 4,400 seats were still offered on resale. Some Iran matches concentrated up to 16,000 tickets available, while matches involving Mexico, Colombia or Scotland attracted much stronger demand.
The question is not whether the World Cup will attract crowds, but whether all matches will manage to fill venues that can seat between 60,000 and 80,000 spectators.
The FIFA still foresees an historic record
FIFA rejects the scenario of a popular failure.
As early as April, the body announced it had sold more than five million tickets. It believes that the historical attendance record set at the 1994 U.S. World Cup, with around 3.5 million spectators, will be far surpassed.
This forecast seems logical: the 2026 edition features 104 matches, compared to 52 in 1994. Even with several matches played in front of partial stands, the total number of spectators should reach an unprecedented level.
The competition could therefore display two simultaneous realities: a global attendance record and, in some television images, large rows of unoccupied seats.
The somewhat contrasting precedent of the Club World Cup
The Club World Cup held in the United States in 2025 had already shown this contrast.
Some big fixtures drew more than 60,000, even 80,000 people. The match between Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid notably drew more than 80,000 spectators at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
Other matches, however, took place in a much colder atmosphere. The match between South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai attracted only 3,412 spectators.
After the first twenty matches, attendance averaged around 35,500 people. An honorable figure in absolute terms, but visually modest in American football stadiums designed to accommodate sometimes twice as many.
This experience recalled that a solid attendance on paper can still create a sense of emptiness when the venue is oversized.
Tickets becoming inaccessible for many supporters
Price is the main discouraging factor.
The 2026 World Cup is the first to apply dynamic pricing on a large scale, adjusting prices according to demand. Rates have risen sharply across the different sales phases, especially for big fixtures and the top categories.
On the official resale market, the median price has nevertheless fallen by about 20% over the last month, a sign that some resellers are struggling to find buyers.
FIFA also levies significant fees on transactions carried out via its platform. Several ticket holders could thus resell them at a loss, despite prices remaining high for buyers.
Supporter associations denounce a competition that has become too expensive for a portion of the popular public. They fear stands will be more occupied by corporations, guests, and casual spectators than by groups capable of creating the traditional World Cup atmosphere.
FIFA’s ticketing practices are now under investigation in New York and New Jersey. Authorities are examining especially the price increases, their fluctuating nature, and complaints about the category or actual seating location of certain seats.
Entry restrictions complicate travel
The price of the ticket is not the only obstacle.
Tightening entry conditions to the United States, visa processing delays, and strengthened checks have created an atmosphere of uncertainty for some foreign supporters.
Some qualified countries remain subject to travel restrictions. Others see their nationals subjected to longer procedures, additional verifications, or difficult consular interviews before the competition begins.
These constraints directly affect the most valuable audience for World Cup atmosphere: supporters who follow their team from city to city and fill the stadiums for matches that are less attractive to the local public.
FIFA and the U.S. authorities have put priority measures in place, but obtaining a ticket does not automatically guarantee the visa.
Significant exemption for Tunisian supporters
The situation for Tunisian supporters has nonetheless improved a few weeks before the tournament.
Tunisia was initially listed among the countries whose nationals could be required to post a visa deposit of up to 15 000 dollars to enter the United States.
Washington ultimately suspended this obligation for supporters of five qualifying African countries: Tunisia, Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
The exemption applies to people with an official ticket and meeting the conditions set within the World Cup priority framework. It does not, however, remove the visa requirement or the other eligibility criteria.
For Tunisians wishing to follow the Carthage Eagles, the main obstacles remain the travel cost, accommodation, ticket costs, and consular processing times.
Three large venues for the Carthage Eagles
Tunisia is already qualified and will face Sweden, Japan, and the Netherlands in the opening round.
Its first two matches will be played in Monterrey, Mexico, followed by a third game in Kansas City, United States.
These matches will take place in large venues. Their turnout will depend as much on the mobilization of Tunisian and opposing communities as on local demand.
The match against the Netherlands should naturally attract more interest. The other fixtures could depend more on the presence of diasporas and traveling supporters.
For Tunisians living in the United States or Canada, this World Cup is a historic opportunity to watch the national team without crossing the Atlantic. But North American distances remain substantial and travel between host cities can represent a significant budget.
A risk concentrated on certain fixtures
It would be excessive to declare a World Cup played in empty stadiums.
The big matches are expected to be sold out or near capacity. Matches involving Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and several major European teams are in high demand.
The risk is especially on matches featuring teams with smaller communities in North America, played on weekdays or in venues far from major population centers.
A 70,000-seat stadium can appear sparse with 40,000 spectators, while a smaller European venue would, with the same attendance, look like a success.
The 2026 World Cup could thus produce an unusual contrast: spectacular matches played behind closed doors, then, the next day, thousands of unoccupied seats for a fixture seen as less prestigious.
The first verdict will come from the images
With more than five million tickets already sold, the 2026 World Cup should set a new global attendance record.
But that record will not be enough to erase possible images of sparsely populated stands. On television, a few empty sections in a vast stadium can weigh more on the tournament’s perception than the cumulative statistics published by FIFA.
Thus the stakes go beyond simple ticketing. They touch on the atmosphere, the popular accessibility of football, and the ability of a tournament so vast to maintain the intensity that makes a World Cup great.
The competition will surely go down in history for its unprecedented scale. It remains to be seen whether it will also leave the paradoxical image of a World Cup that drew more spectators than all its predecessors, while the sound of the ball sometimes echoed in overly large stands.
